No. 2 Iowa dominates Nebraska

Hawkeyes win four consecutive matches to rout No. 7 Huskers

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Iowa won seven-of-10 bouts to top seventh-ranked Nebraska, 24-9, on Friday inside NU Coliseum. The win was the 900th dual victory in school history and marked Iowa’s 38th consecutive conference win. The loss was Nebraska’s first of the year.

“We did some good things,” said head coach Tom Brands. “You can start with the victory [against] a capable and confident opponent. We grabbed control of the dual, which is always important, but we need to grab control of every match and not give the opponent any opportunities.”

TOP 25 SCORES

No. 2 Iowa 24, No. 7 Nebraska 9

No. 3 Penn State 38, No. 17 Northwestern 3

No. 4 Minnesota 25, No. 6 Illinois 9

No. 10 Pittsburgh 27, Lock Haven 9

No. 11 Michigan 33, Indiana 6

Iowa State 20, No. 17 Virginia Tech 14

No. 19 Central Michigan 21, Eastern Michigan 12

No. 21 Virginia 33, North Carolina State 12

No. 22 Kent State 24, Citadel 12

Junior Grant Gambrall led off the dual with a 3-1 overtime victory against James Nakashima at 197 pounds. Both wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third frames before Gambrall finished a takedown 17 seconds into the sudden victory period.

The Hawkeyes (8-1, 3-0) answered with consecutive wins at 125, 133, 141 and 149 pounds to build an 18-3 advantage.

Junior Matt McDonough mixed five takedowns with a reversal and two nearfall points to build a 14-3 lead before flattening Shawn Nagel with 10 seconds left in the second period (4:50). The fall was the ninth of the season for McDonough, who has won his last 10 contests.

Sophomore Tony Ramos followed McDonough with a 10-3 win at 133 pounds. Ramos opened the scoring with a takedown and escape to build a 3-0 lead heading into the third frame, where he added three more takedowns and totaled 1:16 of riding time to defeat No. 18 Ridge Kelly, 10-3.

Senior Montell Marion increased the Hawkeye lead to 15-3 with a 9-6 win against No. 6 Jake Sueflohn. Marion scored a reversal with five seconds left in the opening period before totaling three takedowns over the final two frames to earn his eighth victory in as many duals this season.

Redshirt freshman Mike Kelly captured the Hawkeyes’ fifth consecutive match with a 7-3 decision against Brandon Wilbourn at 149 pounds. Kelly recorded back-to-back escapes between the first and second period to tie the bout, 2-2, before earning a takedown and consecutive stall calls to build a 6-2 lead. He then surrendered an escape, but added a point for riding time (1:30) to earn his first career dual victory.

Nebraska stopped the Hawkeye rally when 10th-ranked James Green scored a 12-7 win against redshirt freshman Nick Moore. Moore scored a pair of takedowns in the third period to pull within two points, 8-6, but Green withstood the rally and earned the win to trim the Iowa lead to 18-6.

Redshirt freshman Mike Evans swung the momentum back toward the Hawkeyes when he scored a 7-3 upset against third-ranked Robert Kokesh. The ninth-ranked Evans scored an early takedown and a late first period reversal to build a 4-2 lead after one frame. He then added a second period takedown and a third period escape to improve to 3-0 in Big Ten duals and extend Iowa’s lead, 21-6.

Sophomore Ethen Lofthouse then added to the team lead when he notched an 8-1 decision against Tyler Koehn at 174 pounds. Lofthouse didn’t allow an offensive point and collected 2:36 of riding time behind three takedowns.

Nebraska won the final bout of the dual when seventh-ranked Josh Ihnen topped senior Vinnie Wagner 10-5, making the final team score, 24-9.